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| Staff Newsletter | August 2021 |
Dear colleagues,
While it feels as if we just finished celebrating Northwestern's latest class of graduates, our eyes are now squarely on the start of the new academic year. Before we know it, students will arrive on campus, eager to learn and live at one of the world's top universities. Make no mistake: We'll be ready to provide the instruction and supports our scholars need to excel.
As much as we all want this pandemic to make its exit, COVID-19 remains an evolving challenge, as we saw with last week's announcement of a return to masking in Northwestern's shared indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. The Office of the Provost and its units are central to Northwestern's response to this pandemic, and we continue to put the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff at the forefront of our decision-making.
In the Office of the Provost, we are moving forward with the rest of the University in our return to campus. Our central plan has been distributed to unit leaders, and staff should now have a good understanding of the expectations for their on-campus presence after the Labor Day holiday. Over the coming weeks, Northwestern will host three more webinars in the Return to Campus Discussion Series that address questions about health, safety, accommodations and classroom expectations, among other topics. I encourage you to register for these webinars, or to watch the recordings when they are posted. As members of the Office of the Provost, it's important that we all have a shared understanding of the University's plans for fall, and the reasoning behind these decisions.
I want to conclude by congratulating the individuals who collaborated for more than a year to produce "Northwestern Principles of Inclusive Teaching." Demonstrating the high demand for this resource, the guide's companion practicum filled its August cohort to capacity. These valuable tools help ensure our instructors have the resources they need to adapt and evolve their pedagogical practices to best engage students in learning. You can read more about these resource and much more in this month's newsletter.
Thank you for your continued dedication and hard work as we prepare for fall. I look forward to seeing you on campus.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Hagerty
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Awards and recognition |
Racial Equity and Community Partnership Grant Program
The Office of the Provost's Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) was one of 10 partnership awardees of Northwestern's new Racial Equity and Community Partnership grants program, which seeks to solve the systemic problems of racial inequity in local neighborhoods. With this grant, the CCE will partner with the Black Metropolis Research Consortium to increase capacity at Chicagoland’s Black archives and support projects that preserve and amplify Black histories and legacies. Rob Donahue, who helped found CCE in 2009-10, was recently promoted to be director of the Center. |
All about the staff |
Meet Jasmine Gurneau
This week’s featured colleague is Jasmine Gurneau, manager of Native American and Indigenous Initiatives in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. Jasmine has worked at Northwestern for nine years, four of them in her current role.
What do you do at Northwestern? I have the honor of serving as the primary liaison between Northwestern and local, national, state and federally recognized tribal sovereign nations, government officials, Indigenous institutions and community groups. I also provide direction and thought leadership for education, training and capacity-building for Northwestern to support its Indigenous community members and partners.
What are some moments, accomplishments or projects that you have been proud of? My proudest moment was during the opening of the Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2018 when we hosted a dedication event recognizing the symbolic significance of using lumber from the Menominee Nation for the construction of the basketball floor in the arena. We hosted an event prior to the opening men’s basketball game where we invited Menominee Nation Tribal Chairperson Doug Cox and President of Menominee Tribal Enterprises Laurie Reiter. They were presented with a game ball on the court during the second half of the game and we had about 75 people in the stands, including members of the Menominee Community Center of Chicago. This collaboration was a prime example of the importance and possibility of economic, social and ecologically sustainable partnerships with tribal nations.
Can you share a personal fun fact about yourself? I served as Miss Indian Chicago, a youth ambassador position, in 2007-2008. The initiative I launched during my reign was a program to develop young women’s leadership skills through art-making called Spirited Daughters.
Brag about your teammates! We feature one staff member in each newsletter. Nominate someone by emailing the Office of the Provost and telling us, in a sentence or two, how your colleague contributes to Northwestern’s mission and why everyone in the Office of the Provost should get to know them.
New staff arrivals
Randy Walker Memorial 5K Virtual Race
Are you looking for an excuse to break a sweat? Registration is now open for the 10th Annual Randy Walker Memorial 5K Run, supported by Northwestern Medicine. This year's free race will take place virtually in order to ensure the safety of all participants. You may run or walk 3.1 miles at any time, at any pace, between Aug. 15-22. Simply track your time, and then use the form that will be emailed to you to submit your results. |
News and notes |
Inclusive Teaching Principles
After more than a year of collaborative work by the Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty, the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of Equity, the University has published “Northwestern Principles of Inclusive Teaching.” Simultaneously, the University opened registration for its Inclusive Teaching Practicum, which is based on the principles. The August cohort reached capacity, and registration is now open for October and November. Searle Center, AccessibleNU, the Office of Equity, Social Justice Education, University Libraries, Northwestern IT’s Teaching and Learning Technologies, Human Resources, the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project and the Office of the Provost helped develop the practicum.
Idea Incubation Process
Northwestern Buffett has launched a new cycle of its Idea Incubation Process for the 2021-2022 academic year. The Idea Incubation Process offers Northwestern faculty unique opportunities to explore global problems and workshop solutions alongside practitioners, community partners and scholars from across disciplines. It encourages intellectual risk-taking, promotes dialogue around provocative new research questions, and supports research projects with the potential for real-world impact.
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Help us build future newsletters! If your unit is working on a project that is relevant to the entire Office of the Provost, or if you have awards, honors or accomplishments to share, send an email to officeoftheprovost@northwestern.edu. |
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